Pumping apparatus



Patented Juiw`2s,193sv PATENT .oFFl'cE PUMPING APPARATUS Frank s. Barks, st. Louis, Mo., signor u Lincoln Engineering Company,

St. Louis, Mo., a

corporation of Missouri Application September 16, 1936, Serial No. 101,031

4 Claims.- (Cl. 10S-195) 'I'his invention'relates to pumping apparatus, and with regard to certain more specic features, to high-pressure, lubricant pumps.

This -invention is an improvement upon the 5 structure set forth and described in United States Patents .1,925,832 -and 1,963,783, issued to Alexander P. Fox, on September 5, 1933, and June l 19, 1934, respectively.`

Among the several objects ofthe invention may l lolbe noted the provision of a lance or well type of pump having a single motor unit'with a suction tube applicable to originaldrum containers' and the like for withdrawing fluid such as lubricant,` and having the' advantages usually obtained byzfa 'Y two-stage compression without the'fusual'complication inherent fin effectingV the same; vthe provision of lapparatus of the class described which will suc essiully pump heavy and viscous 'lubri.

` cants at4 gh pressure and at suitable rate with' .20 out losing'prime; th'e provision of apparatus 'of the class described which provides a substantially continuous ow of lubricant rather than an in#- termittent one; the provision of apparatus of the class described whichwill execute fewer' strokes per unit of time and thus' be subject to less wear,

and which neverthelss has a greater volumetric capacity -measuredsin weight of fluid delivered per unit 0i time; andthe provision of apparatus oi' thiscIass which will 'be light in weight-and simple in construction. Other objects will be ln -part obvious and in part pointed o ut hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elefments and combinations -of elements, features of construction, and arrangements of parts which will be .exemplied in the structure hereinafter described,` and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims. In the accompanying drawing, in whichis illustrated one oi! various possible embodiments 40 ofthe` invention,

Fig. l .is a vertical section of the apparatus illustrating a down?stroke,`certainva1ve parts' being shown in elevation;

Fig.'2 is a fragmentary view," similar to Fig. 1 A

but enlarged, showing the arrangement of 'parts after the completion of the down stroke; and,

. lllg. 31s a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the arrangements of parts 'at the completion of an up stroke. 5o Similar reference characters indicate correspondlngparts throughout the several views of the drawing. y 1 The present' invention is characterized in general by the showings in said-Patents-1,925,832 and Lucana-to the extent that these show a iubncant pump consisting of motor unit attached t0 lance-like cylinder adapted to be inserted through openings in the heads of lubricant drums and the like, the motor being adapted to be air operated to operate a pump in said lance-like cylinder to 5 effect a suction of lubricant from the container for delivery to suitable receiving receptacles.

As is disclosed in said Patent 1,963,783, viscous lubricant may be eiectivel'y pumped by a twostage 'compression arrangement, the two motor- 10 izing means forthe tw -stage compression -beingA carried onthe pump cylinder. `While the xnethod shown infsaid Patent 1,963,783 has been successful, it '-hasrequired the use of two com- .plete air motor cylinders in-connection with the 15 lubricant pump cylinder. The present invention entirely'eliminates one of these cylinders, .uses Aonly one pressure stage and-'produces a lighter, 'neater and more economical and reliable device whichgincorporates'all of the functional advanl20 tages of. vthe apparatus Ashown in lsaid Patentv .Referring now more.l particularly to Fig. 1, thereis shown at numeral I an air motor or engine of the same general type as that shown 25 in Fig. 4 of said Patent 1,925,832, the samehaving a cylinder 3 with a working piston 5 therein, and suitable valve gear 1. An inlet connection.

94 for compressed air is used to serve air to the air motor through the valve gear 1. The piston 30 5 receives air pressure alternately on opposite sides thereof and at suitable intervals by means of said valve gear 1. The valve gear isI operated by means of a valve stem II having lost motion connection with the parts associated with the 35 piston 5. Further description of the air engine and its associated valve gearwill notrbe given, inasmuch as the construction is known from said Patent 1,925,832. Patent 1,963,783 further shows duplicate engines ofthe same character for eiiecting two-stage compression. V- n v Thepurpose of the air engine I is to recipro-` cate' a piston rod I3 which is 'attached to the piston 5, said rod- Il passing through a packing glan'd I5 in a main body I1. The body' I1 carries 45 a pair of outlet check valves I9 and 2| opening outwardly to permit the outward passage of lubricant under pressure but to prevent the return of the same. Thecheck valves I9 and 2| lead to a suitable outlet 23 to which a hose or 50- the like may be fastened to deliver compressed lubricant to desiredpoints.

Other features of the body I1, including the manner of` cooperation with the opening in the lubricant drum or the .like will not be described,

inasmuch'as they have' been made clear in said patent.

Threaded to the bottom of the body l1, and

adapted to extend into the lubricant drum (not shown) is a pump cylinder providing a main chamber 61. The cylinder 25 includes a lower continuation 21 and threaded below the continuation 21 is a second pump cylinder 29 which carries a protective sleeve 3| for guarding against the entry of bodies such as bolts, nuts or the like which may have fallen into the lubricant.

Another downward extension from the priming cylinder 29 is a priming cupA 33 having an enclosing cap 35 and inlet openings 31 and 39. -The openings 39 are positioned slightly lower than the openings 31.

Within the cylinder 29 is 'a piston 4| having a lap t with the interior of the cylinder 29. The piston 4I has an opening 43 therethrough in which are upwardly opening check valves 45. The opening 43 communicates with the interior of the cylinder 29 above the piston. by lateral outlets 41.

Seating on the upper end of the pumping cylinder 29 is a check valve 49 which is pressed toa seat by means of a spring 5i reacting from a ixed spider 53 having suitable openings permitting upward passage of lubricant.

Seating on the uppei` end of the hollow extension 21 is a similar valve 55 which is forced to Y a seat by means of a spring 51 reacting from a spider 59 which also has suitable openings for the upward passage of lubricant. y Each of the valves v49 and 55 is packed around a plunger 6I which serves to transmit motion from the piston rod I3 to the piston 4|.

The seat 63 for the upper"valve 55 is of the insert variety; whereas the seat for the lower valve 49 is integral.

The piston rod I3 and the plunger 6| are connected by a flexible joint connection 65, the purpose of which is to obviate the-requirement of exact concentricity between the said piston rod and'said plunger 6| with its piston 4I. However, they are substantially coaxial or concentric.

In operation the body |1 is applied to the opening of a. lubricant drum, whereupon the cylinder 25 and its extensions 21, 29 and 33 become immersed in the lubricant. The cap 35 is at or adjacent the bottom of the drum and the inlets 31 and 39 are near the bottom of the contained lubricant. A pressure air line is attached to the A forced to their respective seats by the effect of the downward movement of plunger 6| within therespective valve packings, by meansof valve lsprings 51 and 5I respectively and by means of engendered pressure above them. The vreason for the pressure will be explained hereinafter.

At this time a charge of lubricant maybe p rel sumed to have been pushed upon a previous stroke into the interior 51 of cylinder 25. The diam-v eters Di and'Dr of the piston rod .I3 and vplunger 6I respectivelyare so related that the volumetric displacement of the rod I3 -as it enters `said chamber 61 is greater than -that'of thevolumetric displacement of rod 6I as it leaves said chamber 61. Because the larger volumetric displacement of the piston rod I3 is being substituted for the smaller volumetric displacement of the receding plunger 6I, the volume of chamber 61 is reduced, and an amount of lubricant is displaced from the space 61 which is equal to the difference in said volumetric displacements. The displaced lubricant is forced out through the said valves I9 and 2| to and through the outlet 23.

At the same time that the above' described dis-.

charge of lubricant is taking place upon the down 1y long, because the mere suction effect of the piston 4| is not depended upon for complete priming. Priming continues after the piston 4I has reached the top of its stroke, and as it partially descends. Thus very viscous lubricant may be pumped at high rates, inasmuch as full prime is assured on each stroke.

YAs the piston 4I descends, a vacuum is created in thecspace 69 above the piston, thereby drawing in lubricant from the drum, through the ports of the piston 4| reaches the lowerledge of the` lowermost port 39, thereby trapping a charge of lubricant in the priming cylinder or cup 33. 4As the piston further descends (Fig. 2) this trapped lubricant is forcibly squeezed through vthe open check valves 45. At rst substantially all of this lubricant is forced upwardly through the passages 43, 41 and into the space 69 to insure complete filling of the latter. This is because the length of the piston 4| is about equal to the distance from the bottoms of the lower inlets 39 to the tops of the upper inlets 31. Hence, as the compressive action starts, all ports are substantially closed. As it continues. the upper ports 31 A are slightly opened by the descending upper edge of the piston 4|. Nevertheless, the opening action of the ports is not great enough to prevent lubricant from continuing to be forced toward'the space 69. The excess lubricant runs out through the upper ports 31 as they open. It should be understood that the length of the piston 4| need not be such that the ports 31 and 39 are completely covered, although this is true in the present embodiments, but only substantially long enough thatthe piston substantially obstructs the ports for at leastra short period. The action is not one of a primary maintained stage of compression in the cylinder 69, 'but a positive priming means for said cylinder 69.

Thus the function vof the cup 33 is to positively prime the cylinder69 under pressure of piston 4I i as its lower edge crosses the lower edges of port 39. The function of the upper edge of the piston 4| crossing the upper edges of the ports 31 is to provide a by-pass overow to the supply to pre- I vent a hydraulic hammer in the-space 69. By this meansfean be eliminated any requirement vfor a ne calculation as tothe volume of iluid to be transmitted from cylinder 33 to the space 'draw a charge of fluid from cylinder 63 .to chamll. The process is one of forcing fluidfrom the cylinder 33 up to the space 33 with back `flow through the inlet ports 31. If the length of the piston 4I be slightly shorter 6 than the distancebetween the top oi' the hole 31 andthe'bottom' of the hole 33,1 then during all of the positions of the pistonin the priming pump, wherein uid is vcompressed through the valve 45, there is aback flow through the inlets 31. This would merely reduce the. initial pressure with which the lubricant is forced through the valves 43 to the cylinder I3, but nevertheless would insure that the lubricant'be placed under priming pressure in the cylinder 69 with overflow thereof to the portion 31. Thus, considering the entire pump, or the down stroke a charge of lubricant is forced from the space 31 out through the outlet 23, and at the 'sametime a trapped charge of lubricant is urged into the space 63 above the piston 4I.

' The next action is for the'piston rod I3 to move upwardly from the position shown in Fig. 2 to the position shown in Fig. 3.. This also causes upward movement of the plunger 5I and piston Il. As the piston 4I movesupwardly, the valves 'li close and urging of lubricant starts in the space 39. At the beginningz, this urging effects continued overflow action through the port 31, but

finally, when the upper edge ofr the piston 4I reaches -the upper edges of the ports 31, thepisn ton' lurges the lubricant in the space 63 to open thepvalves Q3 and 55, thus transferrlnglubricant from the space .63 upto the space 61. The `term Iurging" is here used for reasons 'which will 35 appear.

.The space 1I vvunder the valve vSli and above' the seat of the valve 49 is in the nature of aA transmission line, the member 2 1 forming an adapter, byl means oi which the length oi the device may be adapted to drum depth. This space 1I could be entirely eliminated; also the extra check valve I9, without changing the -mode of operation. One of the check valves 454 or I9 or '2| may also be eliminated,sofar as the basic theory of the device is concerned.

It will further lbe seenthatas the piston 4I rises, the piston rod I3 also rises-and is 4with- 'drawn from the chamber". At the same time the plunger 8| moves into the chamber 61. Inf a-smuch as the diameters D1 and D: of the piston rod I3 and of the plunger 6I respectively are arranged to give a difference in volumetric. displacement, there will be provided inthe space '61 an extra available volume forlubricant which must be supplied'by the incoming lubricant. Hence. in order that lubricant'may bemoved tothe passage 23 upon the up stroke, the volumetric displacement of the piston II in chamber 38 is made twice that of said difference in volumetricfdisplacements between the piston r'od I3 and plunger ll. Thus, not only istheadded space in chamberA 31 lled by suction (the increasing suction space being provided by the diilerence in volumetric displacement between piston r'od I3 -cant is pumped'into the outlet 23 upon the up4 stroke. .Thus the diiierentialsuction eiect of rod-I3 andvplunger-II aids the piston 4I. in "urg- 7' ing" some (one'half) of the fluid from cylinder,

u Ih cylinder 3l, the diiferential eiiect would alone and plunger II),`but, an equal amount of lubriber 31. The advantage of this will appear.

From the above it will be seen that the difierence in volumetric displacement between the piston rod I3 and plunger 6I provides the means 5 by which lubricant is forced fromthe passage B1 upon a down stroke; and thev fact that the volumetric displacement in cylinder 33 is greater than that of said difference (twice) accounts for the pumpingl of lubricant upon the up stroke. l0

Thus the device is double acting (but not a twostage) and a substantially continuous flow of lubricant is' attained from the outlet. It should be understood that the dimensional relationships set forth above are optional, andthat it is posl5 sible; within the. scope o f the invention," to so relate them that the amount of lubricant pumped on the up and down stroke is dlijerent, although substantially continual. For instance, ii the volumetric displacement of the piston 4I in cylin- 20 der 69 were merely greater than the difference in volumetric displacements between piston rod I3 and plunger 6I, and not necessarily double, this would result in a'diilerent ilew Aupon the up stroke than upon the down stroke but a ilow 25 nevertheless. `It is believed that the arrangement herein disclosed, however, is preferable, be-

' cause asubstantially continuous and a substantially constant flow is most desirable. The criterion for this condition is that the volumetric 3u displacement of piston 4I 'incylinder 63 shall be twice the diil'erence in volumetric displacements between the rod I3 and plunger lil-in chamber 61.

Another way of stating the operation based "'upon said dimensional relationship is that the 35 volumetric displacement 'of the piston 4 I in the cylinderT 63 causes a-displacement of a given .amount of lubricantinto the chamber, At.. the same time one-half: of this displacement is absorbed by the increase -in volume of said cham- .1c-

ber 61 by reason of the recession therefrom of the difference vin volumes oi the piston rod. |311? and the plunger 6Iand the other hali of this displacement passes tothe outlet `23. 0n the' downstroke there is forced'from the quitlet' 23 a 45' volume of lubricant corresponding to Jthe difterence in volumetricA displacements between the piston rod I3 and the plunger -6I.' v

An important advantage of the invention is in the action of the .priming 'cup 33. This cup 50 is evacuated upon the upstroke of Athe piston 4I.` During the relatively long interval that this i stroke is completed and part of the down stroke is accomplished, the cup has tim'e to become illled by the relatively slow flowing' viscous lubri- -55 cant. .The volume of thel cup` i'clrelatively large,

'compared to the volumetric displacement of piston-4I in chamber 6 9. Hence an amplecharge l is obtained therein, even with slow rates of flow of viscous lubricant.y This means that there is so l always availablejan ample charge.

Furthermore, upon movement of thepiston 4I into the said ample charge in 'the priming cup 33, there -is assured bythe' throttledoveriiow action the existence ofa pressure at least equal o5 to that of atmospheric pressurev uponvthe priming lubricant to forceit into the cylinder 33.Y At the same time no hydraulic hammer is encountered-because of'said throttled'overilow action ofthe compressed iluid through the gradually 7o 'n opening ports.v 31. open wider, the resistance'to reciprocation of the pump is' reduced,J this vbeing aiterthe requirement for primingpreure has Furthermore, as said ports Another advantage ofthe invention isthat if 75 i they piston 4i becomes scoredor otherwise worn theless `pumping will be accomplished. This isg. because the` difference involumetric displace` el, 'except-that, in this case, the up stroke of f sofas Itoleak excessively under pressure, neverment between the piston rod I3 and thev plungerV 6| in the chamber 61 results (under these conditions)` in a tendency -to partial evacuation therein which draws lubricant through the valves.

55 and 49 from the cylinder 69 without the aid of piston 4|. Under these. conditions the valves 55 `and 59 arealso aidedin the lifting thereof by the upwardfmovement of the plunger 6i as` leaking conditions, there are two units of lubri` cant in the chamber 69. One unit leaks back past the leaky piston 4I as said piston'rises, while the other goes into the space 61 by suction. Under these leaky conditions the device is a single stroke apparatus which pumps'lubricant intermittently on every down stroke, there being no delivery upon the up stroke.

However, when the piston is not scored or leaky, assuming two units of lubricant in the cylinder 69, upon the up stroke of the piston lil, one unit goes into and 'is retained in the chamber 61, while the other units go through said chamber 61 to the outlet 23. On the down stroke the other unit which was retained in the space 61 is pushed to the outlet 23.

A further advantage is that if one of the valves 55 or 49 fouls, the other will be operative to complete an eiective pumping. If both of the valves 55 land 49 leak, the effect is of the nature of the effect obtained by having a leaking piston the pistonlil isthe eil'ective one to force out lubricant; whereas the down stroke is the one which tends tofail to a degree depending upon the amount of leakage downwardly throughsaid valves 55 and B9.

made with equal sized air cylinders and otherwise comparable.

For example:

Operating at 150 pounds of air pressure, the improved apparatus herein described 'makes 44 strokes per minute at a maximum pressure of 4,900 pounds per square inch on the lubricant. It executes 4.09 strokes per ounce of4 lubricant delivered;4 giving 10.75 ounces of lubricant delivered per minute. l Y

Comparable -apparatus made according to the old principle, also operating at pounds per square inch air pressure made 62 strokes per minl 'ute to produce Vthe same maximum pressure of 4,900 pounds per square inch on the lubricant. The strokes per ounce of lubricant delivered were '8.26; giving 7.5 ounces of lubricant delivered per minute. I

Thus, the Vnew'appa'ratus 'saves in strokes per minute, which reduces wear on the apparatus and requires less operating air. At the same time the capacity of the machine increases, as

, unit of time.

measured in ounces of lubricant pumped per From the above, it will seen that this device 'let 23 is communicated both to the-cylinder 69 when the piston 4l is pumping on the up stroke, and to thechamber' 61 when the vdifferential members i3 and 6l are pumping on the down stroke. Both chambers 69 and 61 communicate with the outlet upon compresion. In two-stage .apparatus this is not true.

vAs to the possible super-atmospheric pressure engendered by compressing from cup 33 tocylinder 69, this is only temporary for priming, and upon the up stroke of piston 4I compression starts from atmospheric in cylinder 69. With some designs the super-atmospheric pressure of prime is not even necessary, the function of the priming cup then being merely the prevention of a drop in pressure due to suction in cylinder 69 as the piston il descends. This accomplishes the same purpose of adequate prime with many lubricants. Variation in the design in this respect is accomplished by variation in lengths of the piston Eil, -as compared to the distance betweenthe tops of ports 31 and the bottoms of ports 39.

In View of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing AShall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In a pump, a cylinder, a hollow piston therein, a priming cup having an opening adapted to receive uid for delivery to the cup, said piston 4having valve means, the piston crossing said opening upon movement toward the cup, the piston'being adapted to enter said cup and having a length such as to instantaneously close said opening upon continued movement to force fluid through the piston to said cylinder and upon further continued movement to place` said cylinder into communication with said opening whereby lubricant under pressure is delivered both to the cylinder for charging and to said' opening for overiow, a chamber having a communication with the cylinder, valve means in the communication, and a reciprocating differential means having portions' of different volumetric displacements passing through said chamber and organized to reciprocate with said piston, said cham'- ber having an outlet, a valve in said outlet, said piston pumping through said valves in the communication to said chamber and having a displacement adapted to force lubricant through said outlet and to supply lubricant to the chamber, said differential means eiecting increase of volume o f the'chamber while said piston forces lubricant thereto, the decreased volume of said chamber eiected by said diierential means upon a reverse Ystroke effecting a compression of lubricant -through' said outlet.

2. In a pump, a cylinder, va hollowpiston therein, a priming cup having openings adapted to receive uid to ow to the cup, said piston having is essentially of the single compression stage' plural check valves opening from theV cup toward the cylinder, the piston crossing said openings upon movement thereof, the length of the piston being adapted to iit said cup and upon movement thereto to instantaneously close said openings to force uid through the piston'to said cylinder and upon continued movement to placesaid cylinderv into communication with said openings,

' whereby lubricant under 'pressure is delivered both to the cylinder for charging and to said opening for overflow, a chamber having a communication with the cylinder, plural valve means in the communication, anda reciprocating member having portions of different volumetric displacements passing through said chamber and organized to reciprocate with said piston, said chamber having anoutlet,.va1ves in said outlet, said piston pumping through said valves in the communication to said chamber and having a displacement adapted to force lubricant through said outlet and to supply lubricant to the chamber upon the diierential means effecting increase of volume of the chamber, the decreased volume of said chamber eiected -by said differential means upon reverse stroke effecting compression of lubricant through said outlet.

3. A pump comprising a body having a chamber with an outlet, a check valve in the outlet,-

a reciprocating engine upon said body, a reciprocating piston rod extending from said engine into said chamber, a plunger attached ,to said piston rod within the chamber and extending movement in the reverse direction said volume is therefrom, said plunger and piston'rod having diierent volumetric displacements in the chamber, whereby upon movement .in one direction the volume of the chamber is decreased and upon t piston having a hollow portion communicating Withsaid cylinder,v a check valve in said hollow 'portion opening toward the cylinder, a priming cup associated with said cylinder and adapted to receive said piston, fluid-receiving openings associated with the priming cup and adapted to be traversed by said piston to trap fluid in the cup, said piston exposing portions of the opening as it passes, whereby fluid is forced in part to the cylinder and in part back through said opening, the volume-reducing eiect of the differences in displacement of said piston rod and plunger at this time forcing fluid from the chamber, and upon reversal-of movement said piston moving fluid from said cylinder to the chamber, the volumetric displacement of sai'd piston in the second cylinder beingenoughto supply the increase in volume of the chamber caused by said differences in volumetric displacement of said piston rod and plunger, and normally to force iluid to said outlet associated-with the chamber.

4. In a pump, a cylinder, a hollow piston therein, a priming cup having an opening adapted to receive fluid for. delivery to the cup, said piston having valve means opening from the cup, the front edge of the piston crossing said opening upon movement toward thecup, the piston being adapted to enter said cup and having a length such as 'instantaneously substantially to throttle said opening upon movement in order to substantially force uid through the piston to said cylinder and upon further movement to place said cylinder in substantial communication with said opening whereby lubricant under pressure is delivered both to the cylinder for charging and to said opening for overow, a` chamber having a communication with thecylinder, valve means in the communication, and a reciprocating differential means having portions of different volumetric displacements passing through said cham.- ber and organized to reciprocate with said piston,

said chamber having an outlet, a valve in said outlet, said piston having a displacement adapted to force lubricant through said outlet and to supply lubricant to said chamber, said differential means effecting increase of volume in said chamber While said piston forces lubricant therethrough, the decreased volume of said chamber effected by said differential means upon a reverse stroke effecting a compression of 'lubricant through said outlet. I

' FRANK S.' BARKS. 

